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I'm on a Boat

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"I'm on a Boat"
Song

}} "I'm on a Boat" is the third single off The Lonely Island's debut album Incredibad, and was also featured as a Saturday Night Live Digital Short.[1] This song features R&B singer T-Pain. The song is a parody of many rap video cliches. The music video reached number one on YouTube in February 2009 and was number one on the U.S. iTunes music video chart.

Summary

The video opens with Andy Samberg — who is sitting at the kitchen table with bandmates Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone — pouring cereal into a bowl. To his delight, a coupon for a free boat ride for three falls out of the box. After pondering who will go with him, Samberg picks Schaffer (Kiv) but skips over Taccone in favor of the previously unseen rapper T-Pain.

The three men are next seen atop a yacht in Biscayne Bay, FL[2] dressed in tuxedos as Samberg announces that they are about to set sail on a boat. The video frequently shows flashes of the left-out Taccone at comparatively mundane places, like "at Kinko's straight flippin' copies" or lifting a parking ticket from his car. The rap portion of the video places the three throughout the boat and in varying attire, including full tuxedos, an air force flight suit, traditional sailor costumes, modern US Navy summer white uniforms (though with non-US Navy epaulettes) and typical casual and formal resort wear. The song features an aggressive delivery of the lyrics which are peppered with strong profanity throughout while making simple proclamations, ranging from the ridiculous ("I'm riding on a dolphin") to the mundane ("I've got a nautical-themed pashmina afghan") to the inane ("The boat engine make noise"). The video concludes with a wide shot of the entire boat.

Parody and allusions to pop culture

External videos
video icon Behind the Scenes on "I'm On a Boat", from TLI's official Web site

The song and video parody the opulence typically flaunted in popular rap videos that is accentuated by heavy use of profanity. Billboard said the song "takes hip-hop boasting to its most absurd extreme,"[3] while the New York Times called it a "sendup of triumphant materialism."[4] The parody is extended in the inclusion of T-Pain, known to sing the hook line in many rap songs. Additionally, the video's intro resembles that of Akon's "I'm So Paid" video, especially the scene in which Akon is standing on the front of the boat.

The song makes allusions to various events, people and other elements from pop culture. The song quotes Kevin Garnett as saying "Anything is possible!" — an exclamation he made after the 2008 NBA Finals. Samberg visually and lyrically references Leonardo DiCaprio's scene in the 1997 film Titanic, where on the bow of the ship, DiCaprio's character shouts, "I'm the king of the world." In the video, Samberg holds a press conference with a blue "I'm on a Boat" banner in the background while wearing a flight suit, a sight gag reminiscent of George W. Bush's 2003 "Mission Accomplished" press conference. Rapper E-40 (who appears elsewhere on the album) often mentions liquors in his rap, which corresponds to the mention of Santana champagne.

Reception

Critical

Giving the song four stars, Rolling Stone said it is "one of the strongest Saturday Night Live hip-hop hits since Eddie Murphy was funny."[5] Stereogum called the tune "a 2:42 masterclass in stunting."[6] The A.V. Club said the song "holds up well on physical media."[7]

Charts

Chart (2009) Peak
position
Canadian Hot 100[8] 62
Hot Canadian Digital Singles[9] 35
Australian Singles Chart 16
New Zealand Singles Chart[10] 9
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[11] 65
U.S. Hot Digital Songs[11] 39

References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=52493697
  3. ^ Nagy, Evie (2009-02-14), "Incredibad". Billboard. 121 (6):37
  4. ^ JON CARAMANIC (February 8, 2009), "A Critics’ Choice - New CDs". THE NEW YORK TIMES. (accessed 2009-03-24)
  5. ^ Relic, Peter (2009-03-05). "I'm on a Boat". Rolling Stone (1073):76
  6. ^ amrit (February 4, 2009), "New Lonely Island (Feat. T-Pain) - I'm On A Boat". Stereogum.com (accessed 2009-03-23)
  7. ^ Singer, Brett (February 24, 2009), "Incredibad". AVClub.com (accessed 2009-03-24)
  8. ^ Acharts.us - The Lonely Island and T-Pain - Music Charts
  9. ^ Billboard.com - Top Music Charts - Hot Canadian Digital Singles - The Lonely Island featuring T-Pain - I'm on a Boat
  10. ^ http://www.rianz.org.nz/rianz/chart.asp
  11. ^ a b http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Singles&model.vnuArtistId=1057860&model.vnuAlbumId=1206729
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